Zip Code Ghost

Verse 1

Concrete

Cold curb

Cracked pavement under boots

The hungry hounds howl at the moon

Cops roll by

Slow

Scanning for a reason

Scanning for a face

Tires hiss on the wet blacktop

Watch the porch

Watch the gate

Watch your back kid

My brother told me keep the steel tucked

He said the streets don't ever sleep

The block is a furnace

Burning through the weak

Burning through the days

Burning through the green

Chorus

This is where I stand

This is where I bleed

My block

My block

The only truth I know

The only place I go

My block

My block

Verse 2

Corner store

Faded signs

Loose singles for the rent

I saw the kingpins fall hard

I saw the mothers cry out

I saw the winters bite

Hunger

Pain

Empty fridges and heavy hearts

Old men playing cards on crates

They remember the glory

They remember the war

They remember the loss

Nobody leaves this zip code alive

Unless they got a plan

Unless they got a ghost

Unless they got a prayer

Chorus

This is where I stand

This is where I bleed

My block

My block

The only truth I know

The only place I go

My block

My block

Bridge

Bricks piled high

Shadows get long

Iron bars on the windows

Locks on the soul

The city never cared

The system never looked

We built this from the dirt

We kept it in the blood

Verse 3

Sirens

Red and blue

Split the thick night air

I’m just a product of the struggle

I’m just a ghost in the hallway

Running from the mirror

Better luck

Better days

Better ways out

The asphalt remembers every name

It keeps the secrets

It keeps the grime

It keeps the time

One way in

Zero ways out

Check the perimeter

Chorus

This is where I stand

This is where I bleed

My block

My block

The only truth I know

The only place I go

My block

My block

Verse 4

Street sweepers miss the alleyways

Dust settles on the ledge

I seen 'em trade their dignity

Right on the razor's edge

Graffiti on the brickwork

Fading out to grey

Another tribute to a friend

Who didn't find his way

The MBTA screeching

Echoing through the park

Small heaters in the jacket pocket

Glowing in the dark

The wind comes off the river

Sharp enough to slice

Nobody gives a handout here

Everything has a price

Keep your head low

Keep your circle tight

Survival is the mission

Every single night

Chorus

This is where I stand

Verse 5

Check the scoreboard

The tally stays grim

I seen the brightest lights flick

And then they go dim

I’m pacing the perimeter

Avoid the white lines

Reading the messages

Between the street signs

Old school mentality

Original flow

The spirit of the Bay State

Everywhere I go

From the triple decker porches

To the bodega floor

The wolves are always scratching

At the heavy metal door

But we don't back down

We just stand our ground

The heaviest weight

In this cold northern town

Chorus

This is where I stand

This is where I bleed

My block

My block

The only truth I know

The only place I go

My block

My block

Final Outro

Sixty-seventeen

Hold it down

The concrete stays cold

The furnace stays hot

Keep moving

Don't stop

Mass state of mind

Respect the hustle

Always

Out